KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Students in Osceola County will soon be able to use some types of medical marijuana at school.
- School board to allow oils, tablets or lotions with medical marijuana
- Principals will designate a place for students to use them
- Must be administered by a parent or caregiver
The Osceola County School Board voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to allow oils, tablets or lotions made with medical marijuana at schools. Smoking or inhaling the cannabis will not be allowed.
Kelvin Soto, an attorney and school board member, said school principals will be designating a place on school grounds where the medicine can be taken.
While most medications are normally distributed by a nurse, only parents or caregivers will be responsible for administering medical marijuana at schools.The correct paperwork also has to be filed.
"It’s not going to be stored in our schools. There’s no reason to worry about it getting into the wrong hands, or someone doing something nefarious to get to it,” Soto said. “So I think it’s a nice balance between parents’ concerns, and to provide that medicine to kids who need it.”
Ana Maria Lopez is the mother of a second grader and a toddler. While her kid does not need medical marijuana, she said her child takes a number of other medications at school that he truly needs.
“This is just an example… My son has asthma. These are all the medications that the school needs to administer,” Lopez said.
Lopez is a firm believer that medicinal cannabis should be treated like any other medicine, even on school property.
"It takes time. Everything takes time. We've just got to give it a shot. It’s been over 50 years of nos when there’s been so many yes's, medically,” Lopez said.